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Native, Web and Hybrid Apps – Understanding the Difference

By [x]cube LABS

Published: Mar 20 2012

As newer technologies emerge, the mobile landscape is becoming incredibly intriguing. While currently everyone is gung-ho about native or HTML 5 apps, a considerable section is also rooting for the third approach called Hybrid mobile applications, which combines the best of both native and HTML 5 apps. As the debate rages on which one – HTML 5, native or hybrid – is the right choice; we present before you a feature-wise comparison of each category to help you make your own choice. But, first a brief introduction on each-

Native Mobile Apps- Built using native programming language for the platform- iPhone or iPad apps are built using Objective-C, and Android applications are built using Java. Native apps are fast, provide better user experience and interface and have access to all device features for which it is built. On the down side, a native app can be used only for its specific platform thereby restricting the reach. For e.g., an android app cannot be run on an iPhone and vice versa. If you want to cover a larger audience across all platforms, you will need to have separate native apps for them.

Web Apps- A website built using HTML5, CSS3 etc., which resembles an application and can be accessed through a mobile browser is called a web app. The biggest advantage of web apps is that it can be used across all platforms and devices. However, web apps are not accepted in any of the native app stores thereby cutting off an important distribution channel for the app developers. Also, web apps cannot access or use the native APIs or device specific hardware features.

Hybrid Apps- While many confuse a hybrid app with a native app, but there is a fundamental distinction. A hybrid application is built using web technology, and then wrapped in a platform specific shell. The native shell not only makes it look like native apps and makes it eligible to enter the app stores, but also, developers can build in some of the native functionalities into it, to access some of the native APIs and use device specific hardware features to some extent. A hybrid app is basically an app developed in combination with HTML 5 and native technology. For cross platform reach, developers would need to code the native part separately for each platform but they can use the same HTML5 part across all of them.

Features

Native

Hybrid

Web

Development Language

Objective C for iOS, Java for Android

HTML plus native

JavaScript, HTML

Tools

iPhone SDK, Android SDK, Windows SDK

RhoMobile, Titanium Appcelerator, PhoneGap, Worklight etc.

HTML5, Sencha, JQuery Mobile

Code Portability

None

High

High

Publication & Distribution

App Stores

App Stores

No Stores

Access to device hardware

Yes

Yes (need to write platform specific wrappers)

No

User Experience

High

Moderate

Low

Upgrade Flexibility

Low

Moderate

High

Development Cost (relative)

High

Low

Medium

Speed

High

Moderate

Low

Maintenance

Complex

Simple

Simple

Content Restrictions

Must adhere to app store guidelines

Must adhere to app store guidelines

No restrictions

Offline Capabilities

Yes

Yes

No

Pros and Cons

Pros

Best performance & user experience

Works offline

Visibility in app stores

Full access to device features

Build once, deploy multiple times

Lower development costs

Visibility in app stores

Access to all device features

Easy maintenance & upgradation

Largest reach

Lower development costs

Easy maintenance & upgradation

Cons

High development costs

Requires good development experience

Longer production cycle

Complex maintenance.

Performance and experience weaker than native

Apps require tweaking for each platform

Performance and experience weaker than native

Don’t have access to native functionalities

Don’t work offline

As we see, the jury is still out on which one is the best approach. It all boils down to your requirements and the way you want your user to interact with your app. While you have all the options, selecting the right platform could be a critical factor in the success of your app.

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